Having started this blog later in my letterpress career than I’d have liked, I’m going to periodically post items about jobs that I completed in the not-so-and-sometimes-quite-distant past. This simple piece was a DVD cover I designed and printed for my father-in-law’s 80th birthday celebration last year. Not being a fan of the jewel case, I opted for the utilitarian look & feel of chipboard & some old wood type. The outer cover is printed in a deboss (letterpress impression without any ink), and the information on the inner verso was laserprinted on kraft paper and affixed with a tasteful steel clip. I affixed the DVD with an adhesive foam post, which is quite handy, and I’m trying to come up with some other uses.All in all, this made for a tasteful presentation that fit the recipient much better than a plastic case or even a glossy white cardstock cover. While the chipboard will wear down and fade with age, stains, tears, fingerprints and dogears equal gravitas—an embodied story that, I believe, trumps any attempt at eternal preservation.